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Asymmetric temperature effect on leaf senescence and its control on ecosystem productivity
Lei He1,2, Jian Wang3,4, Josep Peñuelas5,6
1State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
PNAS Nexus
|November 4, 2024
Summary
Autumn cooling in the Northern Hemisphere has been overlooked. Leaf senescence dates (LSD) in northern forests respond asymmetrically to temperature changes, with warming delaying senescence more than cooling advances it.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Science
- Plant Phenology
Background:
- Widespread autumn cooling in the Northern Hemisphere (2004-2018) has received less attention than warming effects.
- The impact of natural cooling on autumn leaf senescence and plant productivity remains understudied.
- Understanding vegetation adaptation to climate change requires knowledge of both warming and cooling effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential effects of warming and cooling on autumn leaf senescence dates (LSD) in northern forests.
- To analyze the asymmetry in temperature impacts on plant phenology and productivity.
- To highlight the need for incorporating these asymmetric effects into climate models.
Main Methods:
- Utilized over 36,000 in situ phenological time series from European sites (since 1950s).
- Analyzed 30 years of satellite greenness data (1989-2018).
- Quantified the relationship between temperature changes and LSD.
Main Results:
- Leaf senescence dates (LSD) responded more strongly to warming than cooling.
- A 1°C warming delayed LSD by 7.5 days, while a 1°C cooling advanced LSD by 3.3 days.
- This asymmetry is linked to plant resource acquisition, frost risk, and water availability.
Conclusions:
- Temperature effects on autumn leaf senescence are asymmetric and nonlinear.
- Current process-oriented models may not accurately capture these differential responses.
- Accounting for asymmetric warming and cooling effects is crucial for climate projections and vegetation-climate feedback research.
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